As some people may be aware, I am getting an EA to start some serious mods on. I'm not sure what to do though in regards to my current AU. I am thinking I might offload the AU asap and use the funds to put towards the EA. I'll list the pros and cons of selling it below. What do you guys reckon?

Pros

* Can payout most of car loan saving me $200 a fortnight.
* No need for full comprehensive insurance saving me $100 a month.
* Will be able to direct more funds at the EA.
* Could re-apply for lesser loan to fund project (approx $8000 or so).
* Wouldn't have an extra car in the driveway to p**s Mum off even further! lol.

Cons

* No daily driver......although I could get a $500 laser or something with some rego left on it.
* Would be a shame to sell the AU!
* Reliability issues with EA as daily driver.
* EA needs a bit of work to pass pink slip (new shocks all round, new boot latch, new tappet cover gasket).
* Project could be pretty lengthy.
* Not having a daily driver might make me rush the EA and not doing the job properly.

The loan I have at the moment leaves me about $18000 in debt (with interest and $2000 redraw for alloys). So if I could sell the AU for $14000 (may sound pricey to some of you city folk, but out here it's pretty cheap) it only leaves $4000 left on the loan. If I sell the AU it'll mean I can really pull my finger out and spend some money on the EA and get it completed.

For anyone that's interested, here's what I have planned so far:

EA 3.9L block bored to 4.0L
AU Rods
AU Crank
AU pistons with modified bowls to lower compression
AU head, ported and polished
High volume oil pump
Fully balanced
EMS engine management system (undecided on fuel system, needs a lot of thought!)
Largish Turbo running about 10-12psi (greatful of any suggestions on what to use!)
Full 3in exhaust
Manual trans (once again undecided as yet)
3. 45:1 LSD.
Full EF interior, but may also just decide to do something nice to the EA style interior.
Exterior is pretty straight, very minimal panel work required, but will be resprayed cobalt blue or something similar.

Ultimately my aim is for about 250-300rwkw. I want to do it all properly and have it running reliably enough to drive daily, which I can't see being too much of a problem.

Hmmmmmmm decisions, decisions.............any advice would be appreciated and any opinions, negative or positive are welcomed!

Daniel

1992 AXII Telstar TX5 Ghia

121kW 2.5L DOHC V6 in a car that weighs 1100kg's and looks like a 4 banger from the outside......SLEEPER!

I don't want to sink that much money into the AU. It's still a car that's worth a reasonable amount of dough I'd rather sell it and get something back. EA's aren't worth much at all these days, parts are plentiful and cheap unlike the AU. Plus parts for the E-series is mostly interchangeable between models, AU's will only accept AU parts.

Ultimately, I have a soft spot for EA's and the smile after blowing off HSV's from the lights would be much larger in an EA compared to the AU. The AU is a beautiful car, but there are quite a few nice AU's out there, many more than the poor EA's. And I want a bit of a challenge, the AU doesn't need near as much work as the EA. I want to be able to look at a before and after photo and be able to say that I transformed it. Call me stupid, but I'd just much prefer to do it to an EA.....

1992 AXII Telstar TX5 Ghia

121kW 2.5L DOHC V6 in a car that weighs 1100kg's and looks like a 4 banger from the outside......SLEEPER!

A perfect example of the cost of parts compared between them is a 5 speed conversion. I can do A complete conversion on an EA for $500 at most $1500 with a reco box. To convert the AU, I'm looking at $2200 with a second hand box!

Also, because the AU is financed, I am forced by contract to keep it comprehensively insured at all times, meaning if I do those kind of mods to it, who in there right mind would insure me???? I pay nearly $1500 a year on it as it is. With an EA all I have to worry about is third party fire and theft insurance meaning I can keep the car if anything happens to it and fix it myself or transfer all the good bits over to another car depending on the severity and won't cost me near the amount the stock AU is costing me!

1992 AXII Telstar TX5 Ghia

121kW 2.5L DOHC V6 in a car that weighs 1100kg's and looks like a 4 banger from the outside......SLEEPER!

yeah sell the AU, its not like you cant get another one in a few years if you want, and it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to buy then. and think of the cash you wont have lost with depreciation, at least you can put it to good use with mods to the EA / save it / whatever.